I've been reading some Roy Harper stories lately. A while back their was a Nightwing issue where Roy and Damian teamed up with him that I read. It was alright there just wasn't much to talk about. I didn't think I'd like this arc because I haven't enjoyed the way this generation of Titans has been handled. But I heard it was one of the best arcs if not the best of this run.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Roy is the star of this story which is why I finally decided to get it. To sum up the Titans have recently broken up because of (a possible) future Donna Troy going evil and the Justice League stepping in. Roy thinks the League is wrong and goes on a mission to uncover a huge conspiracy. Unfortunately he trusts someone he shouldn't and it becomes clear that his friends won't believe him. Eventually he's proven right and they take on what's left of the Brotherhood of Evil.
Overall: This arc is stronger than the previous Titan work I've read from Abnett. It's actually a great Roy story showing how he is honestly trying to be the best hero he can. You can actually see why he might have a blind spot with Cheshire when she seems like she's trying to be genuine. Roy and her sleep together which is speculated to be the possible night they conceive Lian. If so I might have something to say on that if/when it comes to pass. Cheshire drugs him while they engage in sex which might be one of the most heinous things she's done, at least in regards to Roy.
I've seen that Ollie has had some trust issues with Roy recently in GA and has tried to move past it. He's not the only one as Roy notes that none of the Titans shown really trust him enough. Which is fascinating when you consider the issues that have been released about him this year. There have been complaints about Lobdell "ruining" Roy's friendship with the Titans or making them sound worse than they were. No, he's just giving a nod to things in other titles.
Over in Flash War Roy showed up and called Dick (and by extension his other friends) out on not contacting him after this arc. He wasn't asked to join the new Titans team and had no idea what was going on with Wally. Roy was completely out of the loop which is especially messed up when you consider what he goes through in this story and the fact he saves the day. His efforts are totally ignored right after this arc.
In this story Donna has trouble believing him and doubts him more when the League can't find proof of Roy's claims. These themes of trust for Arsenal are in Titans, Green Arrow and RHATO. He called Ollie out on not trusting him in GA and didn't want to tell him about Sanctuary. While the League and the Titans have some reasons for not instantly believe him their dismissal still feels rather insulting. It feels like they'd ignore him regardless. In fact Donna's narrative outright admits they didn't take him seriously which Wally and to a less extent Dick agree with later on. At least Wally makes the effort to say he's sorry.
In RHATO we learn Jason never stopped believing in Roy even after he confesses to falling off the wagon. Roy directly tells Jason about going to rehab too. Believe me when I say I'd love to get more solid Titan friendships but it's lacking at present. Jason is the only one that has remained supportive this year. His mistake was ending their partnership in a misguided attempt to help Roy but in the end he admits to admiring how determined Roy is. It's a level of faith that's sadly not displayed by the Titans here. The Titans' friendship isn't written as strongly as it used to be.
Roy manages to defeat both Wally and Dick by out thinking them. While doing so he brings some negative perspectives to the surface that he seems to believe in regards of how Dick sees him. Yes he did it to get an opening but given his remarks to Dick in the annual there are issues between them. Things that feel like they get brushed aside in the name of last minute teamwork. They credit it to them being a team but they only did so at the end while Roy did most of the heavy lifting. He literally single handedly stops the big bad when they face off. Yet what happened right after this? Dick restarts the Titans without Roy, still has to prove the team are worthy and gets a league approved member to spy on them. Dick still attempts to win the Justice League's approval and Roy is ignored.
It's ridiculous that the Titans are in this situation in the first place. Except for Roy they all seem to bow down to the wishes of the JL. Their treated like children who can't do anything right by the JL when Damian and Jon are granted more freedom in other books. All because Donna was evil in a possible future? Which is especially laughable considering she turned evil because she's immortal and everyone she loved from the Titans died--and HIC has a file claiming Diana has realized she's going to outlive most people she knows. There are less extreme solutions and the League doesn't treat every possible future like it's definitely going to come true.
There's a sense of disconnect that makes everyone except Roy/Donna seem like their either not friends or oddly formal. They mostly use their last names when addressing each other. Everyone in the JL refers to Roy as Donna's friend making it feel like they don't know him personally. Dick has to be reminded by Wally to apologize to Roy but he's still an ass about it. Roy was right about a lot of things that Dick doesn't acknowledge. Wally and Dick only helped once they followed and realized they were wrong. It feels a little tacked on. I still have no idea why Cheshire drugged Roy.
It's good to see Roy save the day but I don't like how the Justice League acts. We don't even get to see the JL acknowledge they were wrong and it seems they didn't learn their lesson afterward. It's worth a read for a good spotlight on Roy if you don't mind how others act and a somewhat lackluster ending.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment